Pittsburgh Steals Spotlight With 2nd Stunner

November 8, 2004|By Don Pierson Chicago Tribune

PITTSBURGH — Before the first play of Pittsburgh's 27-3 wipeout of Philadelphia on Sunday, rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had to wave his arms to quiet the already juiced record Heinz Field crowd of 64,975.

By the time the Pennsylvania Super Bowl was over and the 7-1 Steelers had left Jerome Bettis' cleat prints all over the NFL's last undefeated team, Roethlisberger no longer was a rookie and the 7-1 Steelers no longer were a Cinderella story. Big Ben keeps on ticking. Now he must wave his arms to quiet the buzz of the football world.

After knocking off undefeated New England last week and following up with a more resounding victory, the Steelers signaled a new pecking order.

"Nobody expected us to be where we are," receiver Hines Ward said. "It means a lot because people were saying we didn't play anybody."

The loss shook the Eagles so much that volatile receiver Terrell Owens was seen jawing at quarterback Donovan McNabb on the sidelines in the second quarter in a scene reminiscent of so many Owens meltdowns in the face of adversity.

Coach Andy Reid claimed he didn't see it and characterized it as "a conversation in the nature of encouragement." But Owens' behavior always trips alarms.

"That was just me trying to fire him up a little bit," Owens said. "It's going to be like that sometimes."

Said McNabb: "What he was trying to do was calm me down."

No one ever had toppled two undefeated teams in succession this late in a season. By winning his sixth straight start, Roethlisberger tied the post-1970 merger record for rookies set by Pittsburgh's Mike Kruczek in 1976. The difference is Kruczek never had to throw a touchdown pass during that streak dominated by the Steel Curtain defense. Roethlisberger has thrown 11, including two Sunday en route to a stunningly quick 21-0 lead.

"To me, it's just football," Roethlisberger said. "I try not to get overwhelmed with it, and I try not to get overly excited. After it was all said and done and you saw the final score, then it was like, `Wow, that was a big win for us.'''

The Steelers pounded the Eagles with second-stringer Bettis, whose 149 yards on 33 carries kept the Philadelphia offense on the sidelines for 41 minutes 49 seconds.

For the 18:11 McNabb played, he was decidedly the second-best quarterback in the game. He was 0 for 8 on third downs compared to 8 for 15 for Roethlisberger.

Owens was the second-best receiver on the field, but Ward gave Philly fans their money's worth by mimicking Owens' end zone Eagle arm-flapping after two touchdowns.

"Everybody kept showing T.O.'s dance with Ray Lewis," Ward said. "What better way to get excitement than do my own version of Terrell Owens? It's all fun and games. He's the best wide receiver in the game. I wasn't trying to show him up. I talked to him after the game."

Said Owens, shut out of the end zone for only the second time as an Eagle: "It was fine. Hey, this is a free world. He can do whatever he wants to. I wish I could have been on the receiving end of some of that."

It was 21-0 after the Eagles' first three possessions--before the Eagles made a first down or Owens caught a pass. The lead enabled Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to tee off on McNabb and outguess Reid, who was calling McNabb's plays.

"That's a good football team. We're not that much better than they are," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said.

Bettis, 32, was playing in place of ex-Eagle Duce Staley, a late scratch because of a hamstring injury.

"It boggled me that people were concerned Duce was not here," Bettis said. "I've been getting it done for a long time. Am I the same running back I was at 25? No. But I'm still a good running back."